Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs notch highest combined daily inflows since January, attracting over $1 billion amid price surge

The combined U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds generated $1.05 billion in combined net inflows on Thursday — the highest daily figure since January amid BTC's latest all-time high and ETH's best run in months.

The spot Bitcoin ETFs brought in $934.8 million on May 22, according to data compiled by The Block — the most since Jan. 17, just before bitcoin's prior record high. Yesterday's flows were dominated by BlackRock's IBIT with $877.2 million. Fidelity's FBTC and Ark Invest's ARKB also attracted net inflows of $48.7 million and $8.9 million, respectively, while the remaining funds saw zero flows for the day.

BlackRock's IBIT recently entered the top five of all ETFs by year-to-date flows after going "Full Pac-Man" during the past month, in the words of Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas, bringing in more than $7.7 billion since April 22, as its assets under management soar to $68.7 billion.

Thursday's flows extended the spot Bitcoin ETFs' positive streak to seven days, totaling $3.2 billion, as year-to-date figures reach $9.1 billion and total cumulative inflows since their January 2024 debut hit $44.6 billion. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs registered $110.5 million worth of net inflows on Thursday — their biggest daily addition since Feb. 4 — as ether enjoys its most positive price action in months. Grayscale's ETHE and ETH products brought in $$43.7 million and $18.9 million, respectively. Fidelity's FETH attracted $42.2 million and Bitwise's ETHW generated $5.7 million. However, the remaining funds, including BlackRock's ETHA, witnessed zero flows.

The spot Ethereum ETFs' own positive run is now in its fifth day, totaling $211.8 million, with year-to-date inflows at $61.9 million and total cumulative flows reaching $2.7 billion.

"ETF inflows were exceptionally strong yesterday — both figures significantly exceeding recent daily averages and driving continued market strength," BRN Lead Research Analyst Valentin Fournier said.

Galaxy Head of Franchise Trading Michael Harvey told The Block his gut feeling is that some of this demand is being met by sales of seized assets from foreign governments and profit-taking by retail investors. "However, the combination of a 'risk-on' environment and corporate buying are dominating flows currently," he said.

Price discovery

Bitcoin has entered price discovery having broken the prior Jan. 20 all-time high of around $109,000 on Wednesday, then tapping $112,000 briefly on Thursday. The foremost cryptocurrency has gained 7% over the past week after fully recovering from a 32% decline to below $75,000 in recent months, according to The Block's Bitcoin Price page .

In contrast, ether has failed to make a new all-time high so far this cycle. It reached $4,111 in December, but that was still around 16% below its November 2021 record of around $4,870. It subsequently underperformed, dropping 66% against the U.S. dollar to $1,392 by April 7, and 50% against bitcoin during the same period. However, it has since rebounded strongly, gaining 91% to reach a current price of $2,668 per The Block's Ethereum Price page .

Thomas Erdösi, Head of Product at CF Benchmarks, told The Block that given the lower levels of volatility compared to the December and January highs and little evidence of traders using heavy leverage to capture spot–futures spreads, the "rally still looks measured, not euphoric — leaving room for further upside."

However, the weekend poses a short-term risk, and with institutional flows absent, bitcoin's price discovery may lose steam, BRN's Fournier warned. Nevertheless, recent outperformance by ETH and SOL indicates a growing appetite for altcoins as retail capital rotates out of BTC following recent highs, he said.